Wheellock Rifle
A masterpiece of German baroque gunmaking, this luxurious wheellock rifle is one of the finest examples produced by the anonymous gunstocker called the Master of the Animal-Head Scroll, after the eponymous design motif that appears throughout his work. Probably employed by the imperial court in Vienna, he was active between 1624 and 1659, the dates recorded on his earliest and latest-known firearms. Characteristic of this master's work is the carving of the stock, with leafy tendrils ending in animal or bird heads, and the recessed background, which is either stippled or matted for contrast and, often, engraved with foliage. This rifle is among the most elaborately decorated works in the master's oeuvre, particularly the barrel, lock, and other metal parts––all intricately worked, chiseled, gilt, and encrusted with high-relief silver ornament––as well as the stock, which is extensively carved and inlaid with mother-of-pearl plaques. The silver escutcheon engraved with a crozier, which is set into the stock behind the barrel, suggests that the rifle might have once belonged to a prince-bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, perhaps Johann Christoph von Westerstetten (1563–1637, prince-bishop from 1603) or his successor, Marquard II, Count Schenk von Castell (1605–1685, prince-bishop from 1637).
Artwork Details
- Title: Wheellock Rifle
- Stock maker: Master of the Animal-Head Scroll (Meister der Tierkopfranke) (Austrian, active 1624–59)
- Date: ca. 1630–40
- Culture: Austrian
- Medium: Steel, iron, silver, gold, wood, mother-of-pearl, staghorn
- Dimensions: L. 43 1/4 in. (110 cm); L. of barrel 32 3/8 in. (82.2 cm); Cal. 0.5 in. (12 mm); Wt. 9 lb. 4 oz. (4189 g); L. of ramrod 32 13/16 in. (83.4 cm)
- Classification: Firearms-Guns-Wheellock
- Credit Line: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift and Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 2018
- Object Number: 2018.103
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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